Chapter 36 "Frenetic in Glafelden Town V"

Not long after Almira finished cooking, there was a loud knocking sound behind the front door. Its voice even startled Cedric, who was having breakfast. It suddenly scared the boy half to death. His face suddenly looked very pale.

"Excuse me!!" someone shouted from behind the door. His deep and loud voice could make anyone flinch. Almira exchanged glances with Cedric.

"M-Mom, who is that?" Cedric asked quietly.

"Don't worry, no problem! Let mama deal with this," answered Almira with a faint smile to dispel the fear on Cedric's face.

The brown-skinned woman then got up from the dining table, walked towards the front door, and slowly opened the doorknob. Along with the creaking sound of a creaking wooden door, a tall and large figure appeared. His skin was dark, his eyes were sharp, and there was not a hint of a smile on the corner of his mouth when he visited people's homes.

"Sorry, is there anything I can help you with?" asked Almira, lowering her voice, pretending to be a weak woman.

"We want to check your house, Madam. Meanwhile you wait outside," said the dark-skinned soldier.

The big tall soldier went straight into the house without saying another word, followed by two other soldiers. Almira was pushed back when the soldier forced his way in.

"Mama!" Cedric shrieked as he saw his mother fall. The boy then ran towards the door.

Almira grabbed her only son and went out of the house. Many householders in the vicinity were being examined and interrogated by the soldiers. One of the soldiers directed her to line up, waiting her turn to be interrogated.

"Mom, what's going on?" whined his son with tears in his eyes. The boy was frightened after seeing the soldiers' rude attitude towards his mother. He felt that something bad was about to happen.

"I don't know," replied Almira while hugging and stroking Cedric's back to calm him down. "Don't be afraid, everything will be fine."

A big and tall soldier came out of Almira's house soon after. His flat face seemed to clarify that he couldn't find anything from inside. Then walked towards the two soldiers who were interrogating.

"Let me take over this part. You help the others to check the houses!" The dark soldier ordered one of his subordinates.

"Aye, Corporal One Obrigis!"

After a soldier left, Obrigis, who had just changed tasks, began to interrogate the house's residents outside. Almira looked worriedly at the dark-skinned knight. She felt that the man was someone to watch out for some reason.

A few minutes had passed, the queue of residents to be interrogated shortened. Now it was Almira's turn. She came face to face with Obrigis. The man's sharp gaze annoyed Almira.

There was a hint of doubt on her face, but after calming herself with a deep breath, she walked forward. Her hand gripped Cedric tightly as if worried that the boy would be apart from her and injured by the Elite Knights.

"What's your name?" asked Obrigis in an even tone.

"Almira."

"Let's down to business. Do you know someone named Anggi in this town?"

Just as expected, the Elite Knight's goal was to blockade the suburbs, check the residents' homes, and interrogate the residents to find Anggi the Haier-Elvian.

When she first knew the Elite Knight's goal in Glafelden was to capture Anggi, she immediately ran to the Dark Night headquarters. Instead of meeting the Mixed Girl, she met Grussel. The two then discussed what happened in this town. Thanks to that, the Elvian woman knew that Anggi had left this town with Dimas a few days earlier.

Almira was relieved. Because she was so afraid that Anggi would be caught by the Elite Knights. She couldn't even imagine what this kingdom would do once they got that Mixed Girl. Anyone would have known that all royal members were very ambitious. They wouldn't stop until they got what they wanted. There were many ways they would do to make Anggi obey them without being able to fight back. Either way, it wasn't a good thing.

"No," replied Almira curtly. As a former scout in the West Elvian Kingdom, that woman often dabbled in things like this. If she didn't want to be caught lying, then she must answer as naturally as possible calmly.

Obrigis squinted. The gaze that had been sharp from the start, he sharpened again until Almira felt it almost cut her heart. The dark-skinned soldier looked deeply at Almira. As if something was bothering him.

The man approached Almira and confirmed something against her nose, "The person we are currently looking for is a fugitive from the kingdom. If you plan to trick us or are caught hiding the girl, you will receive the death penalty."

"I don't really know her. Why should I lie?" replied Almira while shaking her head, still pretending not to know. She stepped back to get away from the burly man.

Immediately, Obrigis grabbed Almira's wrist tightly. The man put on a flat face as if he didn't care about the screams of a woman who was wincing in pain. He didn't even reduce his strength in the slightest.

"What is this about? Let me go!"

Almira's shout drew attention to the surroundings. Cedric immediately burst into tears seeing his mother treated rudely like that. The boy was afraid that the Elite Knights would give his mother a severe punishment, even though he had no idea what was going on.

In contrast to Obrigis, the dark-skinned soldier didn't care about any of that at all. Whether the child cried or the mother struggled to be released, he would continue to carry out his duties. This wasn't the first time a muscular man dealt with other people's emotional feelings while on duty. Previously he had even beheaded a robbery defendant in front of his own family. That was how he was, a rule-abiding man who didn't mix feelings and heart into his work.

"As I thought, there's something you're hiding," Obrigis snapped, "you're too calm when you answer my question. Everyone I questioned this morning answered with worry and fear. But you are completely different. You're so calm as if you've already prepared an answer to trick me."

"That's the truth! I don't know him at all!"

"Only in a moment of urgency did you deny it vehemently, didn't you? Looks like you're really hiding something. Come with me! I will interrogate you intensely!" said Obrigis.

"Wait! Where are you taking me?"

In the crowd's attention, Obrigis dragged Almira's hand roughly. The vast difference in strength made Almira unable to do anything. In fact, she could have used Esze to throw this burly man. But common sense prevented her from doing that. If she revealed her identity as Elvian, who could use Esze, she could no longer live in this town.

"Mother!!"

The woman's gaze shifted to her son, Cedric, who continued to chase after his mother while crying. Cedric's cry was heart-wrenching. Until this time, she raised her child with love and protected him from bad things, so Cedric smiled. But this time, Almira was forced to see her only son crying in tears.

What kind of mother wasn't touched when she saw her child like that? She wanted to quickly wipe her son's tears and comfort him. Almira realized that she couldn't do anything at this point. The woman hoped that someone from the crowd on the side of the road would stop this burly warrior's madness. But that was impossible, she thought. Everyone here might be annoyed and angry with the Elite Knight's arbitrary attitude. Yet no one dared to stand in the way of this warrior.

These people just stared pitifully at the mother and son pair. Absolutely no one could help. Almira was about to yield to the situation. The woman just hoped Cedric would be okay. Let her bear it all.

A second later, a glimmer of hope appeared. Obrigis, who had been dragging her forcibly, suddenly stopped his pace. Almira had time to think, what could make this burly warrior stop? It was only when she glanced forward that she realized what had happened.

Right before Obrigis, an equally burly man stood in the way while folding his arms. While everyone here was afraid of one of the Elite Knight leaders, that man didn't even show any fear. Instead, his chin was raised as if to challenge. The aura emanated from him was so domineering, making everyone around him feel even more disdain for him than the dark-skinned warrior.

Obrigis was flabbergasted. It was rare for him to express anything other than his flat face. Then he cleared his throat. "I don't expect someone like you to live in a small town like this, Great General Grussel! Oh no, I mean Ex-General!"

"What's wrong with a retiree like me spending the rest of his life in this little town?" replied Grussel defiantly.

The dark-skinned soldier was silent for a moment. He looked at Grussel coldly. There was absolutely no respect for his former leader.

"So what are you trying to do by blocking me, Grussel? Even though you used to be a former general, now you're just an ordinary citizen. I'll treat you indiscriminately if you dare get in my way," Obrigis explained.

"Wow, scary! Why do you think I will get in your way? I'm here to help you."

"What do you mean?"

"First of all, can you take your hand off that woman?" asked Grussel while looking at Almira, who was wincing in pain, and her child, who couldn't stop crying. "The Elite Knights I know are troops with high self-esteem. I didn't expect you to do such a cowardly act like threatening a commoner like this."

"Why should I listen to you?"

"Because that woman doesn't know at all about your goals," answered Grussel as he drew closer to Obrigis up to a meter away. "You guys came to this town for a Haier-Elvian girl, didn't you? I know where she is now."